Powder River, Oregon |
The Powder River is located in Eastern Oregon, near the town of Baker City.
The river flows from the slopes of the Blue Mountain into the Snake River, and
provides opportunities to fish for Rainbow trout, and an occasional Steelhead
or Brook Trout. The lower stretches of the river tend to provide a better
chance to catch a bigger Rainbow, and fish below Thief Valley Reservoir range
between 12 and 20 plus inches. Thief Valley Reservoir also holds some very
large Rainbow for those looking to do some stillwater fishing. My experience
with fishing the Powder River is on the section just below Phillips Lake.
This section of the river provides good fishing for hatchery Rainbow Trout
that average about 10 inches. There is also a good access point just below
the dam and the river is generally very easy to wade. During the summer
look for good hatches of Pale Morning Duns, Green Drakes, and Caddis flies.
Campgrounds are available at Phillips Lake, and there are hotels in Baker
City. Below: A fair sized Powder River Rainbow (Left) and the River (Right). |
This area of Oregon was famous for gold mining in the early 1900's and the impacts
that mining has had on this region can be seen in the Sumpter Valley above Phillips
Lake. The mining had devastating impacts on the salmon that once ran
up this river, but Phillips Lake allows the contaminants from the mining to
settle out and provides cold water for the trout population downstream. Right: Mine trailings in the Sumpter Valley |
Useful Flies |